• by August 18, 2006

We know we're all multitasking more than ever--but can you prove it?

According to a new survey from BIGresearch, a market intelligence firm, multitaskers cross all forms of media usage, both traditional and new. For example, the survey finds that almost 70 percent of Web users say they watch TV occasionally to regularly while they surf. Of newspaper readers, nearly 65 percent say they watch TV occasionally to regularly while they read, and 51 percent of radio listeners occasionally to regularly read the newspaper while listening.

"When you add new media to the mix, such as satellite radio, blogging, and instant messaging, consumers have more media options than ever vying for their attention," said Phil Rist, vice president of strategic initiatives for BIGresearch, in a statement. "They're quickly growing accustomed to using more than one media option at once, so the world of traditional media is becoming even more fragmented." That's for sure.

The impact of new media becomes more apparent when looking at the types of Web sites survey respondents visited most for fun and entertainment. Yahoo.com topped the list at 10.4 percent, followed by Pogo.com at 5.5 percent, and MySpace.com at 3.8 percent. ITunes.com led the way for music/video downloads (7.6 percent) followed by Yahoo.com (3.9 percent) and LimeWire.com (2.8 percent).

Media multitasking among consumers makes effective marketing and advertising an entirely new challenge, according to BIG's Rist. "Suddenly, a 'once captive' TV audience has now defined itself as a 'moving target,'" he said in a statement.

More information on the survey can be found at: http://www.bigresearch.com and by clicking on "Complimentary Top Line Findings."